Controversial Topic

[namechangeryadayada]

Did anyone have a glass of wine in their pregnancy? I did in my first pregnancy maybe a glass once or twice a week after 20'weeks but not at all in this pregnancy.

Curious what other people's view points are.

My relative was advised to drink a half of Sweetheart Stout for iron when pregnant in 1962 (Uk). She couldn't stand the stuff so ended up getting iron injections which were painful and left massive bruises.

Yep, I drank in the 2nd and 3rd tri with both of my DC.

The odd half glass of champagne at weddings, an engagement party, Christmas dinner etc. And then every now and then half a lager shandy (so technically 1/4 a pint of beer)

I feel completely comfortable with that decision.

Hi

Interesting question!

So, I work for a Medical Regulator I.e we regulate/investigate doctors in the UK. I was out for dinner with two VERY senior, very experience obstetrics and gynaecology consultants and in response to my questions about alcohol during pregnancy both of them said, and I’m quoting here, that fact you must not drink during pregnancy is “an old wives tale”.

They said obviously don’t go out and get hammered every night but the odd glass of wine every now again is FINE”. Interestingly they were more concerned about eating rare meat/fish.

Anyway absolutely everyone to their own. I’m nearly 18 weeks pregnant and has my first drink the other evening - it was like 2 fingers of wine. I don’t intend to have any more until my baby shower in May where I wil have a glass of prosecco.

I am not criticising midwifes or the advice they give AT ALL as mine similarly said to abstain. I’m just giving an example of the differing opinions amongst the medical community!

I found out I was pregnant at 19 weeks, I had been enjoying a couple of glasses of wine weekly until that point. When I found out I completely freaked out, ended up going to the fetal medicine centre as I was seriously considering a termination due to alcohol consumption.

I was told by a very senior consultant that in his career he has never seen FAS as a result of light drinking, he did caveat with of course there has been exceptions, but as a rule of thumb it was not something he he experienced. He said there would never be a safe limit as there is no ethical way to test.

Turns out my baby, or not so baby now was totally fine.

Personally I couldn't drink knowing I was pregnant as the guilt would be to much, but I just wanted to add another view point.

The day I found out I was pregnant was the day I stopped drinking and I won't touch a drop until well after he's born. I just couldn't drink knowing I could be harming him, I find it incredibly selfish tbh. I'm not than happy to go without for a few months for the welfare of my baby.

Hodge85 don't you think it was selfish to be drinking before you found out? I stopped when ttc every time, I wouldn't have dreamed of drinking during the two-week-wait in case I was pg.
(It's easy to play selflessness oneupmanship)

I've found that eating carbs and some sweet foods has harmed my baby more than any alcohol would have. But there you go!

I just think why would you play Russian roulette with something that's been neither proved nor disproved it harmful? surely it's better to err on the side of caution and just not, its really not for a long time. each to their own though

So many things can go wrong in pregnanacy why add more risks so selfish. i am breast feeding but never have drank when pregnant or feeding,i never really drink so i just dont get why u would drink when pregnant think maybe help is needed if u cant give it up for such a short time.
But each to their own ,not judging just my view,we all are different in what we do & think.

It doesn't sound like you're keen to anyway, but drinking a glass of wine (or whatever) while bfing is quite safe, and is not comparable to drinking while pregnant.

tomba that's quite dangerous advice - there is evidence that alcohol crosses over into breast milk. I'm not sure how many hours per unit is, youd have to look at NHS website but you would have to wait a certain amount of time to be sure the alcohol was out of your system. or expressed before. obviously that's for people that dont want their baby to accidentally intake alcohol. for those of you who arent as bothered well that's up to you

No it's not dangerous advice at all. There's plenty of scientific advice that shows the amount of alcohol in milk and it is absolutely miniscule. Do your research

@flower1994 it’s not dangerous at all, do your research! The amount of alcohol in breastmilk is no greater than the amount in blood so even if you were paralytic it wouldn’t be more than about 0.5% and with moderate drinking it’s more like 0.2%. For perspective you can have that much alcohol in orange juice.

The only real risk of drinking when breastfeeding is being too intoxicated to safely take care of a baby e.g. falling asleep on a sofa with them.

Yes absolutely, tiredness would be a killer in the early days. I bf two dc for a total of over 5 years, so that is a long time to go teetotal if you didn't want to.
The alcohol in bm disapates too, so you don't need to "pump and dump" after drinking.
I found motherhood massively reduced my inclination to drink anyway (hangovers ) but I can make that decision as an adult and not be misinformed about it.

the NHS says that although it's unlikely to harm everything you eat and drink could find it's way into your breast milk and that you can wait 2-3 hours after every drink to minimise that risk. so I've done my research thank you very much though

each to their own

@flower1994 I'm not getting at you but it's quite flawed reasoning to say you should avoid something that's neither been proved or disproved to be harmful. If something had not been proved or disproved to be harmful, it probably also hasn't been proved or disproved beneficial so avoiding it is not necessarily erring on the side of caution.

I'm thinking of, for example, peanut consumption during pregnancy. Once it would have been 'erring on the side of caution' to avoid then while pregnant but it is now thought that consuming then while pregnant might protect against allergies. Just a general critical thinking PSA!

If something is unlikely to harm then isn't it a bit OTT to say I had given dangerous advice

@Tombakersscarf I wasn't actually trying to conceive when I did and I was 2 weeks pregnant when I found out, so stopped. And yeah I feel guilty for that but my one-upmanship is based on the people who are pregnant and drink so don't have a go at me.

I've found that eating carbs and some sweet foods has harmed my baby more than any alcohol would have.

How'd you know that?

@flower1994 that's not research! The nhs offers quite generic advice and doesn't really go into detail. There's a lot of specialist sites on b feeding etc that give up to date and research based info

I think it comes down to how each individual feels and how comfortable they are with any perceived risk whether likely or not. for me personally I will always err on the side of caution until told in no uncertain terms. it's dangerous because whether you think its generic or not people should be aware that it hasnt 100 percent been given the green light. this topic is always going to be debated and I doubt there will be a clear answer for a while as its not something that can be easily studied. comes down to individual choice as with anything

There are pregnant women who read the research and make their own judgements about consuming alcohol. Because they're adults.
Then there are sanctimonious judgemental twats.
You'll all know which one you are.